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Lesson 3
Herbert Spencer
Robert Wonser
SOC 368 – Classical Sociological Theory
Spring 2014
Spencer’s Life
Born in Derby, England on April 27, 1820
Worked as a civil engineer for a railway
from 1837-1846
Worked as editor of The Economist
1850: Social Statics
Began suffering insomnia and nervous
breakdowns
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 Received inheritance in 1853 which allowed him
to quit his job and live as a gentleman scholar.
 Never earned a university degree or held an
academic position.
 Didn’t like to read the intellectual work of others.
“All my life I have been a thinker and not a
reader, being able to say with Hobbes that ‘if I
had read as much as other men I would have
known as little’” – Spencer
 Died December 8, 1903
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Spencer and Comte
Both fans of positivism, though Comte
went religious, Spencer was against this
(focused on what was knowable).
Both believed in societal evolution.
Both derived structure and function from
biology and tended to use them in similar
ways.
Both pivotal in development of structural
functionalism.
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Spencer and Comte
Spencer defines social statics as dealing
with the “equilibrium of a perfect society”
Social dynamics as relating to “the forces
of which society is advanced toward
perfection”
For Spencer the terms are normative, for
Comte, descriptive.
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Spencer was concerned with the knowable
world and was more scientific than
religious.
Through deduction from general laws,
Spencer articulates a series of ideas that
constitute his general evolutionary theory.
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Evolutionary Theory
 All inorganic, organic, and superorganic
(societal) undergo evolution, devolution, or
dissolution.
 His final evolutionary formula:
 “Evolution is an integration of matter and
concomitant dissipation of motion; during which
the matter passes from an indefinite, incoherent
homogeneity, to a definite, coherent,
heterogeneity; and during which the retained
motion undergoes a parallel transformation.”
(Spencer, 1902/1958:394)
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Major elements of Spencer’s
Evolutionary Theory
1) progressive change from a less
coherent to a more coherent form;
increasing integration
2) movement from homogeneity to
heterogeneity; increasing differentiation
3) movement from disorder to order,
demarcation of social structure and
institutions; indefinite to the definite.
Applies to both structures and functions.
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Evolution
 Evolution occurs because homogeneous
phenomena are inherently unstable.
 These effects of instability giving way to
multiformity lead to heterogeneity which then
leads to the multiplication of these effects.
 Segregation causes increasing multiplication of
the effects and further differentiation.
 Leading to evolution.
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Sociology
“the study of sociology is the study of
evolution in its most complex form.”
(1873/1961:350)
Macro level focus; societies, social
structures, social institutions.
Should be understood as we understand
the natural world.
Laypeople believer erroneously that they
can understand society like sociologists.
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Sociology and Biology
 Saw basic linkages between the two.
 All social actions are determined by the actions
of individuals and that those actions conform to
the basic laws of life in general.
 Powerful analogies between the two.
Living body, growth, structure and function.
 Natural progression and linkage between the
two because humans are the “terminal” problem
for biology and starting place for sociology.
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Sociology and Psychology
“psychological truths underlie sociological
truths.”
Psychology studies feelings which were
linked to action.
Primitive people were more selfish,
modern more altruistic
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Sociological Methods
Difficulties facing Sociology:
Social phenomena are not directly
perceptible.
Subjectivities distort data of past and
present societies.
Sociologists’ biases influence more than in
natural sciences.
“value-free” position
Used comparative historical method
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Evolution of Society
Increasing integration (increasing size and
coalescence of masses of people)
Increasing heterogeneity
Increasing definiteness (clearly
demarcated social institutions)
Increasing coherence of social groups
(they stay together longer!)
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Society
Nominalism – society is nothing more than
its component parts
Realism – society is a distinct and
separate entity (Spencer’s view)
Organicism
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Society
Structure as an organization 
accompanies increased size
Regulative (military activities) and
sustaining (economic activities that
maintain the group)
Function “the need subserved” by a
structure
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Simple and Compounded Societies
Simple societies constitute single working
entities that are not connected with other
entities.
Homogenous, uncivilized and uncompounded.
Compound increase in heterogeneity
Doubly compound societies are
recompounding compound groups
Trebly-compound, the great nations of the
world
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Militant and Industrial Societies
 Militant societies tend to be dominated by the
regulative system whereas industrial societies
are characterized more highly developed
sustaining systems.
 Militant – offensive and defensive warfare
 Army and nation are one
 Individual exists for the good of collectivity
 War is useful for societal aggregation.
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Industrial Societies
Industrial societies dominated by
sustaining system and its industrial system
is more developed and diverse
Governments tend to be democratic
Individual is protected and permitted to
flourish
Military is subordinated to industrial
system.
Harmony, not conflict characterize
industrial societies
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Ethics and Politics
 Spencer’s moral and political ideas are derived
from his methodological individualism.
 Focused on macro but individuals were his
“units”
 “The properties of the units determine the
properties of the aggregate” (Spencer,
1873/1961:41)
 Individuals are endowed with a moral sense that
dictates their actions and the structure and
functioning of society.
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“Society is constantly excreting its
unhealthy, imbecile slow, vacillating,
faithless members”
The unfit should die off.
To help them, they’ll only breed and make
society worse off.
Only role fo state is protect the individual’s
liberty.
“survival of the fittest”
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Herbert Spencer’s Legacy
Who Now reads Spencer?
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